Silvia Alonzo, a bilingual reading/language arts teacher at Reagan Elementary School, is the Dallas ISD 2014 Teacher of the Year.

The DISD graduate received a $5,000 prize during an award ceremony and dinner Thursday sponsored by Central Market and H.E.B. A committee of educators, parents, community partners are among those that selected Alonzo.

“Ms. Silvia Alonzo is the example of the teacher we all remember from our youth. She is the teacher we all wish we could go back and thank for their efforts,” Reagan Elementary principal Sebastian Bozas wrote in his recommendation of Alonzo. “She is the teacher all teachers (at Reagan) support because she exemplifies the best of Dallas ISD.”

Other Teacher of the Year finalists were Dana Clark, Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School; Patrick McGhee, Woodrow Wilson High School; Travis Smith, Trinidad “Trini” Garza Early College at Mountain View College; and Emily Tang, Franklin D. Roosevelt High School.

Robin Jefferson, 2014 Teacher Assistant of the Year

The 2014 Teacher Assistant of the Year was also selected at Thursday’s event. The honor went to Robin Jefferson, a teacher assistant at H.I. Holland Elementary School at Lisbon. She received $1,500 from Central Market.

DALLAS—The following is a statement from Eric Cowan, president of the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees:

“This past week saw the beginning of a petition campaign to turn the Dallas Independent School District into a “home-rule” district. This is a concept created by the Texas Legislature nearly 20 years ago that has yet to be tried in the state by any community.

There is obviously a lot to learn about how the process works in creating a home-rule charter and many of us on the board are examining the statute closely to understand what it could mean. On the face of it, there may be some advantages allowing flexibility to certain state laws as a home-rule district. There may also be some limitations that should be closely scrutinized. While more information becomes known, the Board of Trustees will focus on the immediate and important work of supporting teaching and learning for our nearly 160,000 students.

My goal is that the petition drive and possible campaign do not get in the way of the important work that we as a board, as well as all of us in the community, have ahead of us. There are still nearly 160,000 students in our schools this week. Those students will be back in our schools the week after Spring Break and the week after that.

Our assignment as a school board is to focus on our tasks at hand, which include preparing a new budget for the upcoming school year, closely examining a new teacher evaluation and pay system, and determining what kind of changes can be made to our school system to continually prepare all of our students for college and their careers.

Debates about governance structures may be enlightening, but they shouldn’t distract any of us, including staff and parents, from the important work that awaits us every single day throughout the Dallas Independent School District. We appreciate the dialogue around public education in Dallas, but the work remains and the Dallas ISD Board of Trustees will remain focused on our current role as your elected officials.”

——————————————————————————————————————Tawnell D. Hobbs writes about the Dallas Independent School District. Follow @Tawnell on Twitter, @DallasISD_News on Twitter and the Education Blog on Facebook.

Another District 2 opponent, Matthew Barnebey, dropped out earlier in the filing period.

Here’s the candidate line-up for two other board seats up for grabs:

*In District 6, five contenders are vying for the seat being vacated by trustee Carla Ranger. The contenders are Lew Blackburn Jr., the son of DISD trustee Lew Blackburn; D. Marcus Ranger, the husband of trustee Carla Ranger; Joyce Foreman;Carlos Sherman; and Bertha Bailey Whatley.

All Dallas ISD races have challengers as trustee Mike Morath has picked up an opponent in District 2.

Sabrina Martinez Harrison, a homemaker and business owner of Mint Dentistry, has filed to run against Morath in the May 10 election. District 2 includes parts of North Dallas and East Dallas.

The filing period for three Dallas ISD board seats ends Friday.

In other races, District 6 in Southwest Dallas has four opponents. They are: Joyce Foreman, a community activist and semi-retired business owner; Carlos Sherman, a retired accounts manager at Verizon Communications; Irving school attorney Bertha Bailey Whatley; and attorney D. Marcus Ranger, trustee Carla Ranger’s husband.

Carla Ranger is not seeking re-election to the District 6 post.

In District 8, trustee Miguel Solis is being challenged by Richard Sheridan, a political activist and retired engineer. District 8 includes parts of Love Field, Northwest Dallas and Central Dallas.

Filing packets can be picked up at the Office of Board Services at district headquarters, 3700 Ross Ave. from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Friday.

The filing period for three Dallas ISD board seats ends Friday. The election is May 10.

Trustees Mike Morath and Miguel Solis have filed for another term, while trustee Carla Ranger has decided not to run again.

Ranger’s District 6 seat in Southwest Dallas has drawn four contenders. Her husband, attorney D. Marcus Ranger, is one of them.

The other District 6 candidates are Joyce Foreman, a community activist and semi-retired business owner; Carlos Sherman, a retired accounts manager at Verizon Communications; and Irving school attorney Bertha Bailey Whatley.

In District 2, Morath is unchallenged for the post that includes parts of North Dallas and East Dallas.

In District 8, Solis faces a challenge for the seat that he has occupied since November. He’s filling the unexpired term left vacant by Adam Medrano, who was elected to the Dallas City Council.

Richard Sheridan, a political activist and retired engineer, is contesting Solis for the District 8 post that includes parts of Love Field, Northwest Dallas and Central Dallas.

Filing packets can be picked up at the Office of Board Services at district headquarters, 3700 Ross Ave. from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today through Friday.

For the first time, all Dallas ISD students in 11th grade can take the SAT for free at their school, district officials announced today.

The test will be given on Wednesday as part of SAT School Day, a nationwide effort that encourages students to pursue a college education while making it convenient for them to take the exam.

Dallas ISD officials said in a news release that giving the SAT in a familiar environment on a school day will reduce stress for students. It also removes barriers of students needing to travel to a testing site and pay to register.

“This is a great opportunity for our students, and the Board of Trustees should be commended for allocating funds to make this happen,” Dallas ISD Superintendent Mike Miles said in the news release.

“Students are taking the exam at their school during a regular school day, so it is convenient, transportation is not an issue, and our counselors, test coordinators and college readiness staff have walked them through the entire registration process. It is an important step toward preparing every student for success in college.”

About 9,000 students are registered to take the exam.

(Waiting on DISD to confirm the amount it’s paying for the 11th graders to take the exam. At my estimation at $51 an exam, it could be near $459,000).

Richard Sheridan, a political activist and retired engineer, is contesting trustee Miguel Solis for Dallas ISD’s District 8 seat.

Solis has been in the post since November. He is filling the unexpired term left vacant by Adam Medrano, who won a seat on the Dallas City Council.

District 8 includes parts of Love Field, Northwest Dallas and Central Dallas.

The election is May 10.

In other races, four contenders are vying for the Southwest Dallas District 6 seat. They are: Joyce Foreman, a community activist and semi-retired business owner; Carlos Sherman, a retired accounts manager at Verizon Communications; attorney D. Marcus Ranger; and Irving school attorney Bertha Bailey Whatley.

In District 2, trustee Mike Morath is so far unchallenged. District 2 includes parts of North Dallas and East Dallas.

The filing period ends Feb. 28. Go here to read the candidate applications.

The District 6 race has drawn four contenders thus far, with the filing deadline still 10 days away. The race is drawing more challengers this go round as trustee Carla Ranger has decided not to seek re-election to the Southwest Dallas post.

Ranger’s husband, attorney D. Marcus Ranger, is among challengers for the seat. Other opponents are Joyce Foreman, a community activist and semi-retired business owner, and Irving school attorney Bertha Bailey Whatley.

Two other DISD board seats are also up for grabs — but they’ve received few challengers.

Trustee Mike Morath is uncontested for the District 2 post, which includes parts of North Dallas and East Dallas.

In District 8, trustee Miguel Solis has no challengers. District 8 includes parts of Love Field, Northwest Dallas and Central Dallas.

Attorney D. Marcus Ranger, the husband of Dallas ISD trustee Carla Ranger, has filed for the District 6 seat that she is vacating.

So far, he will face two contenders for the Southwest Dallas post — Joyce Foreman, a community activist and semi-retired business owner, and Irving school attorney Bertha Bailey Whatley.

Ranger has been a trustee since 2006. She announced in early January that she would not seek another term but gave no reason why.

That Carla Ranger’s husband has filed is a surprise to some observers. He will go up against Foreman, who has supported Ranger during her time in office.

Also, Matthew Barneby has withdrawn from the District 2 race in North and Near East Dallas. Barneby said other people in the Lakewood community have expressed interest in the seat. Trustee Mike Morath is currently uncontested for the spot.

In District 8, trustee Miguel Solis has no challengers.

The filing period ends on Feb. 28. Click here to read candidate applications.

Dallas ISD Superintendent Mike Miles used an outside attorney to represent him in an investigation into his handling of a contract award.

And the district paid his $18,143 bill for legal services.

Whether the district was legally bound to pay Miles’ attorney costs is not clear. His contract allows for attorney fees to be covered for legal proceedings; the investigation never reached any court level.

DISD spokesman Jon Dahlander saw no problem with the payment. He said in an email that Miles’ contract does not specify that the legal matter must be in a court of law. Miles has yet to return a call for comment.

Trustees are likely to address the issue at Thursday’s board briefing. The payment is listed under this month’s bills and claims report.

Miles was billed for “representation regarding Paul Coggins investigation – related matters,” according to a statement from the Adams, Lynch and Loftin law firm. The billing period is Aug. 22, 2013 to Nov. 20, 2013. The total hours billed is 108.70, an average of about $167 an hour.

The board hired former U.S. Attorney Paul Coggins in July at a cost up to $100,000 to determine whether Miles had interfered with an internal investigation into the handling of a contract for parent education services.

Coggins’ report cleared Miles of wrongdoing in the initial complaint. But it found he violated a district policy by talking to witnesses during the internal investigation.

The report also found that he helped a former administrator draft a resignation letter, which criticized the board of trustees but praised Miles’ leadership. Miles may have helped leak the final resignation letter to the media, according to the report. The report said his actions violated his contract, which requires him to maintain an effective working relationship with trustees.

Miles received a letter of reprimand and was placed on a 90-day employee improvement plan. Trustees also made changes to his contract, including the elimination of a clause that allowed for a one-year extension if he receives a performance evaluation of “proficient.”